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Kashiwazaki-Kariwa gets consent to turn on reactors. Japanese authorities have ruled that reactors at the world’s biggest nuclear power plant were safe to restart, in a boost for the industry and the troubled Tepco nuclear operator, almost seven years after the disaster at Fukushima.

The nuclear regulation authority gave its formal approval for Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) to restart the reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, 150 miles northwest of Tokyo. The reactors, the same type of boiling water units that suffered meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi following the tsunami of March 2011, now meet stricter safety standards, the regulator said. Last year, the people of Niigata prefecture registered their opposition by electing Ryuichi Yoneyama, an anti—nuclear

candidate, as their governor. Exit polls showed that 73% of voters opposed the restarting of the nuclear plant, with just 27% in favour.

Yoneyama has said that he won’t make a decision on the restarts, scheduled for Spring 2019, until a newly formed committee has completed its report into the causes and consequences of the Fukushima disaster – which could take at least three years.

from The Guardian 28th December 2017

(It is to be hoped that the will of the Japanese people will prevail and the plant does not re—open. — Ed)